Airbus Company Overhaul

MOBILE, Alabama - Airbus parent EADS said Monday it will protect the interests of its shareholders as talks of a corporate overhaul proceed and the company's shares continue climbing.

"The company is participating actively in such discussions, as appropriate, with the support of its Board of Directors, with the objective to preserve and enhance, where appropriate, the interests of all stakeholders, including shareholders, clients and employees," the EADS statement said, as discussions of potential changes in the company's shareholding structure and corporate governance continued.

The statement also noted "there can be no certainty that these discussions will be conclusive."

The Agence France-Presse reports both French conglomerate Lagardere and German automaker Daimler have made it known they wish to leave EADS, in which each company holds a 12.5 percent stake. Those pending exits, however, muddle a carefully negotiated corporate structure that since 2000 has preserved national interests in France, Germany and Spain.

Meanwhile, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Fabrice Bregier told Reuters he is confident the Toulouse, France-based planemaker will weather the apparent transition without sacrificing record production or seeing its profits sag.

And although Bregier did concede Airbus is on pace to fall behind U.S. rival Boeing Co. in the annual industry race for orders and deliveries, he said the company still booked 200 new orders in November, alone.

"We are not in a hurry. We will achieve more than our target of 650 orders this year," he told Reuters. For the complete report click here.

Construction on the company's first final assembly plant in the United States is slated to begin in early summer at Mobile's Brookley Aeroplex on a $600 million facility dedicated solely to the A320 family. Officials anticipate the plant will be completed in 2015, and expect to deliver the first Mobile-assembled aircraft in January 2016.

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